Coinbase is ready to purchase $500 million worth of crypto on its balance sheet

Brokerage firm Coinbase has the green light from its board to purchase more than $500 million worth of crypto on its balance sheet, according to a tweet from its chief executive officer Brian Armstrong. 

The firm, which is known for helping publicly traded companies make large bitcoin purchases, will also be investing 10% of all future profits in crypto. 

"I expect this percentage to keep growing over time as this crypto economy matures," Armstrong said

A blog penned by Coinbase's chief financial officer Alesia Haas indicated that the purchase would include Ethereum as well as other assets tied to the decentralized financial world. 

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"We have committed to invest $500M of our cash and cash equivalents," Haas wrote.

"We will become the first publicly traded company to hold Ethereum, Proof of Stake assets, DeFi tokens, and many other crypto assets supported for trading on our platform, in addition to Bitcoin, on our balance sheet," she added.

Coinbase, which tapped the public markets in April, has helped companies including MicroStrategy and Tesla make large crypto purchases. Firms like MicroStrategy view the move as a way to protect capital from potential inflation.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Coinbase has also stockpiled billions of dollars worth of cash in the event of a crypto winter or regulatory crackdown. It could also put that capital to work to make acquisitions. 

This post has been updated with information from a blog penned by Coinbase chief financial officer Alesia Haas. 

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Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].